This Troublesome Heart
by ShigureNoNioi
Summary: Shikamaru is paid a visit by a certain sand kunoichi. Little did he know what was to follow. (My summary stinks) Shikamaru x Temari pairing. Manga spoilers.
1. Thoughts

Disclaimer:  
  
I don't own Naruto. Nor the characters, nor ! I claim nothing but the original parts of the storyline! Don't sue me, please. Gets down on his knees and begs  
  
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This Troublesome Heart.  
  
It wasn't just another afternoon, same mother yelling at him to get up, same old training, same old Ino complaining and blabbing on and on about a certain genin every other girl was probably talking about. And then there was Chouji... But that all was beside the point. In fact it was just the opposite, he was here to clear his mind and relax. Yes, Nara Shikamaru was currently occupied by his one and only hobby, watching the clouds go by. But truth be told, he normally just came here to sneak a nap in. He smirked.  
  
It had been two weeks since they had completed their mission. Chouji was suprisingly be out two more, his stomach was damaged and he was almost completely drained of chakra, but he was said to make a full recovery, thanks to Tsunade's master healing abilities. Though he was still supposed to be taking it easy. Even on the food. 'He was lucky.'   
  
Neji's wounds were a bit worse and needed atleast another month to heal, he was hanging by a thread when the ANBU had found him. Sasuke was placed under 24/7 supervision after Naruto had defeated him. 'That jerk, and to think I actually looked up to him back in the academy' He had suffered a broken arm and leg, along with the beating of his life. Shikamaru grinned 'I'd love to see that traitor's face when the Hokage questions him. Or better yet, the next time he sees Naruto.'  
  
And he, Nara Shikamaru suffered a few scrapes and a broken finger. A certain sandnin had saved him, and he felt he owed her his life. As did Kiba owe Kankuro, Gaara and Lee were even, he guessed. 'Trying to kill you one minute and saving you the next.' he snickered, then sighed. 'I can't believe a girl saved my life. Even though she's pretty strong... and she does have alot of qualities I like.' His brow furrowed. 'Stop right there, thinking like that is nothing but trouble.' He watched as a few birds flew by from behind him, they seemed to have been startled by something. 'That means someone is probably coming to bother me. Troublesome.' "Ino, what do you want?" he grumbled. A chuckle, a feminine one at that. Asuma and Ino were definatly out of the picture. 'Then who?' he wondered. He then looked up to find no other than his savior standing beside him.   
  
"Hey.." she said, sitting down next to him. He had sat up, curiousity getting the best of him, though he didn't show it.   
  
"What do you want?"  
  
She smiled, sighed and leaned back on her arms, then smirked. "Poinient aren't we? I just came here to see how you were doing. By the way, how is your friend?" He slumped back down to the ground.   
  
"He should be out in two weeks."   
  
"I see" she said, closing her eyes. "Can I ask you something?" A shrug. "Would you have done the same for me?" Shikamaru sighed.   
  
"Yes. I owe you, even if relations with the hidden sand are rocky right now." There were a few moments of silence. Finally looking over to Temari, he found her with a thoughtful expression; watching the sky.He took notice of how comely she looked in the failing light, but quickly shook the thought. 'Musing mental poetry about a girl you hardly know: Bad.'  
  
He muttered a "Thank you", to which she nodded.   
  
"So how do you feel about being saved by a woman?" she grinned.   
  
"The same way I would feel like if I was saved my a man; relieved." he scoffed a bit "Did you think I really meant what I said at the chunin exam?" It was her turn to shrug.  
  
"I dunno."   
  
"I just said it to rile you up. I'm too smart to be a sexist; especially around a girl who could definatly kick my ass." This earned him a large and toothy, mischievous grin. 'I'd definatly run if I saw that and I was her enemy..' but his thoughts were cut short.   
  
"I've gotta get going. Maybe we could meet for lunch tommorow Shika-kun?" she said as she stood.   
  
'I owe her.' "I guess." She then gave him a genuine smile   
  
"Good. Meet me at that ramen place tommorow, noon. Be on time or I will hunt you down." And he believed her, having seen that glint in her eye.  
  
He stood and watched her go, chastising himself for staring a little low. Though he didn't stop himself, and he didn't know why...  
  
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	2. Words

Eeeyah! I'm sorry for not updating, but here's the new chapter. Also, I've fixed a few things with the first chapter.  
  
As always, I claim ownership to nothing.  
  
This Troublesome Heart.  
  
Chapter two.  
  
Someone was disturbing her sleep, shaking her gently. That someone would pay dearly when she finally decided to get up. Yes, when she got up... There it was again, gritting her teeth she finally snapped out "What?!" rolling over as she opened her eyes... to see Gaara. She froze, 'I'm dead' was all she could think, what was he waking her up for anyways? "Gaara? What is it?"  
  
"You asked me last night to wake you up at 11, and I did. But you didn't get up.." He gazed over at the clock. "It is now 12:15, a shinobi shouldn't sleep so late" He was as stoic as ever, but something had indeed changed about him, his eyes didn't hold quite the same malice as they used to. The thought was quickly lost on Temari as he began to walk away.  
  
"Thank you." she said before he left, to which he only paused, bowing his head a little. 'Brothers' she shook her head as she got up, begining to get dressed. "Gaara, where the hell is Kankuro?" she stretched.  
  
"He is out."  
  
'Mental note: Kill Kankuro for leaving that creepy doll of his across from my bed.' "Uh-huh" She grumbled, pulling the hairties out of her hair from the previous night before. 'I didn't fall asleep almost until dawn, grrr... I really need a shower, my hair is a mess, I can't go out like this' again she froze. "Shit." 'Shikamaru!' she was supposed to meet him for lunch, and it was already 12:30. 'Great' she hurried and gathered her things, taking a quick shower before getting ready to go out. 1:00, fabulous indeed. She was only atleast an hour late. She shot out the door, begining her search for Shikamaru. "Gaara, I'm going out!"  
  
"Whatever" came from the balcony.  
  
She sighed, deciding not to run. After all, she was atleast an hour late, it wouldn't hurt to be a minute or two later, would it? Maybe, she didn't really care too much. She figured he wouldn't either, and if he did, he'd just have to deal with it. When she had finally reached the ramen stand she peered in, no Shikamaru. 'Of course it wouldn't be that easy. Like he'd sit here and wait all this time.' She sighed, deciding to ask the owner "Old man, was there a chunin from the Nara family here earlier?" He paused, turning slightly from the boiling pots of ramen in front of him.   
  
"I think so, grouchy, smart mouthed kid with a pony tail?"   
  
"That'd be him, when did he leave?"   
  
By now he had turned back to the noodles, placing some into bowls "About 30 minutes ago I believe. That sound right Ayame?" The waitress nodded. Temari gave her thanks and slowly walked away, thinking.  
  
"And I don't even have an idea where he is." she narrowed her eyes and paused for a moment, cursing herself for not being punctual. When suddenly, a chill ran down her spine 'What was that?' she tried to turn her head but it didn't comply. Her eyes widened in fear for a moment before it dawned on her. 'That binding techniquehe he used in the exams.' Still frozen she narrowed her eyes "Alright, where are you?"  
  
"Right behind you" he released the shadow bind, watching as she turned to face him. "Are you always late?" he mused.   
  
"I.. well..." her brow furrowed. "It's all Kankuro's fault!" she pouted. If she had been watching his expression, instead of glowering at the idea of her brother's stupid puppet keeping her up all night, she would've seen his smirk.   
  
"I see." 'I wonder what happened.' he crossed his arms 'I'm not going to bother to ask though'. "So what now?"  
  
She blinked a little then regained her composure. "Have you ate?"  
  
"No"  
  
"Then let's do as we planned." she turned back to the shop.  
  
"You planned." He said, following her back to the ramen shop.  
  
"I planned." she scoffed.  
  
Temari turned, waiting for him just outside. "Are you always this slow?"  
  
"Asuma says I'm 'dispassionate'." he yawned. "Which I guess is correct, to a degree."  
  
They had eaten in relative silence, each glancing at the other from time to time. Often catching one another but saying nothing. Shikamaru had ordered some sort of beef stew and Temari had gotten chicken flavored ramen, not that any of that mattered. There was a long silence between them, neither really knowing what to say. Shikamaru sighed, deciding to break the ice. 'Here goes nothing' "Why are you here with me and not fawning over that Uchiha?" he saw her smirk immediatly.  
  
"Why would I be interested in a self centered traitor?" her eyes met his, giving him a look he didn't quite recognize. "Are you scared he's going to steal me away?"  
  
It then hit him, that was the look his mother used when she was teasing his father. 'Didn't see that coming.' He paused for a moment, scratching his chin. "You yourself were a traitor not too long ago." she lowered her gaze, it was true. "But I guess I just figured you'd like him since every other girl in this village practicly worships him. Then again, you're not from here are you?" She lifted her head, shaking it gently.  
  
"My.. my father..."  
  
Shikamaru noticed her pained expression. 'Crap.'  
  
She continued. "He didn't want to start a war with the Leaf. He had always tried to keep our village and country safe and keep us out of a war. You may not know this, but the wind country is very unstable. He was what held it all together..." she closed her eyes "But I think when Orochimaru made his offer to my father, he refused it. Ultimately leading to his death. Everyone hated him because he had been the one who had bound Shukaku to Gaara, but he always tried to do what's best for the sand and wind." she trailled off, whiping her eyes.   
  
Shikamaru felt like punching himself. 'Why did I have to bring that up. This is too troublesome.'  
  
"We never wanted to attack the leaf, even when Baki told us of our mission; I wanted no part in it and vowed to myself I wouldn't kill unless absolutely necessary." she closed her eyes tightly, a few tears rolling down her cheeks as she stood. "Can we please continue this somewhere else?" she whispered and he nodded; saying nothing as they walked out.  
  
He had lead her to his team's normal training area, a small field beside one of the streams leading into Konoha. Sitting on a bench under the shade of a tree, the one Asuma usually occupied. He looked over to her with concern. She sniffed a little "Shikamaru, they don't want us back."  
  
He raised an eyebrow looking over to her "The sand?" he noticed she had her arms wrapped around herself tightly. He couldn't stand to see her cry... 'I hate seeing women cry.'  
  
"The whole wind country." she sighed "The new Kazekage was my father's rival... He was using the excuse of killing Gaara to send platoon after platoon of shinobi after us. We had survived, but we knew Gaara wont always be able to defend us while we slept. Or even during the day when we were out. What kind of life is it when you can't even be safe in your own home." She drew in a deep breath, attempting to calm herself "We came here for refuge. To set things right with ourselves and with what we did."  
  
Shikamaru was unusually quiet, staring at the ground as if in deep though. "I'm sorry." was all he said, he placed his hand over her's where it now lay on the bench. 'Her whole world is falling apart and I've been playing silly mind games with her' he scolded himself. 'Childish... but I hadn't known.' He turned to her, following her eyes down to their hands. He squeezes, looking back up to meet her eyes.   
  
They stared at eachother, Temari at this person showing concern for her and Shikamaru at the person he felt needed someone to lean on. She latched onto him, burying her face into her shoulder as she hugged him tightly. Shikamaru returned it somewhat hesitantly, having done this before for Ino after Sasuke had said something cruel to her. But this... this was differant. It wasn't some girl upset over her crush ignoring her, it was someone who didn't know what to do and had nowhere to go. He tightened his grip on her, pulling her a little closer as he kissed her forehead like his mother used to do when he was little. 'I think I want to be the person she comes to when it all goes wrong again.' He looked down at her, noticing the slight blush on her cheeks as she looked back up at him. 'No, I will be.' he closed his eyes, resting his head on her shoulder as he stroked down her back. "I'm here."  
  
She held him tighter. No words could describe how she felt right at that moment, but then again. Some moments aren't meant for words.  
  
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	3. Afternoon

Hello everyone! Sorry for the lack of updates. (Insert excuses here.) I promise to try to update more often. I've noticed that reviews really inspire me to write more often. (Because it makes me feel bad when I leave you hanging.) So, please review. And I hope you enjoy reading this story.  
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Shikamaru sighed, they'd been like this for atleast half an hour and she didn't seem to be planning on letting go of him anytime soon. He closes his eyes, rubbing his temple. 'Definatly have a headache on the way.' Their current sitting arangements didn't quite help either."Temari?"  
  
She stirred, lifting her head slowly. "Sorry..." She met his eyes for a moment before taking interest in the sky. "It's not every day that the ice maiden of the sand breaks down and acts like a normal girl." Temari sighed deeply, glad no one had really noticed. Shikamaru wasn't really looking at her, instead taking great interest in a pebble a few feet from where they were sitting.  
  
"Who said it wasn't okay to be normal every now and then." he murmured "And you're not really an ice queen."  
  
Temari scoffed lightly, sitting up straight in an attempt to look him in the eyes. "But a shinobi isn't supposed to show emotions."  
  
"No, we're not. But we're not on a mission right now, are we?" there was a thoughtful pause, a small smirk forming on his lips as he spoke again. "You know, your eyes are cold at first, but that's only because they're so dark; almost unreadable. They're actually quite nice."  
  
Temari flushed ever so slightly at the compliment, looking away and wiping her eyes again.  
  
"But when someone is this close, there's almost no mistaking what's going on.. Now, would you mind getting off of me. If someone where to see us, it might be considered indecent." 'Now to watch her reaction.' he mused mentally.  
  
She narrowed her eyes a bit and got off of Shikamaru's lap. "We wouldn't want them thinking we were an item would we." she crossed her arms after standing. "You might get accused of being a traitor as well."  
  
Shikamaru laid his his head back lazily as he slouched on the bench. "I think everyone knows about you and your brother's predicament by now, people love to gossip." his expression changed from sleepy to slightly aggitated. "As for us being an item, I'm sure my everybody would be overjoyed. Everybody in Konoha would be waiting to see what kind of child two geniuses could produce. And then there's my parents.. Right now they're worried because I'm not even really interested in girls. I..."  
  
Temari cut in, mirth in her voice "So they think you're gay?" taking note of his previous complement.  
  
Shikamaru's eye twitched "It has came up. I got the whole 'We'll still love you' speech. What a bother.." He huffed. "By the way dad talks, after I take an interest in women, I'll loose all common sense. Along with my mind."  
  
She grinned. "You, a sex crazed maniac? I would never imagine."  
  
Shikamaru rolled his eyes, looking at her from their corners "Heh, dating seems like alot of trouble." He finally stood, staring off into the distance. Well, at the clouds on the edge of the horizon.  
  
"You're probably right." She smiled that scary little smile of her's and turned to him, troubles currently forgotten. "Hey, Shikamaru... How about you escort me around Konoha today? Surely you could do something so easy for someone who saved your life." Her grin widened, to the point it was almost sadistic.  
  
He stared at the ground for a moment, hands in his pockets. 'Damn she's bossy.. and scary, like mom. But I guess she's right.' "I don't guess I have anything better to do."  
  
They had spent nearly 45 minutes walking, mostly just around the edges of the village. Temari occasionally asking him about restaurants and shops they passed. They where quiet for the most part and no one really said much to them. Just how Shikamaru had hoped. Well, that was until they came to the Yamanaka flower shop.  
  
Shikamaru froze, a silent prayer crossing his mind as he looked to Temari. He wasn't scared, no. He just didn't want to run into Ino. He watched Temari gazing at the flowers in the window. 'I'll never hear the end of it if she sees us.' There was about a 75% chance Ino was working today, he thought. 'Bah, what the hell am I worrying about.'  
  
Temari was lost to the world once she layed eyes on the shop. Though she would never admit it, she envied places other than Sand because of their plants, especially flowers. Her smile was almost childish as she turned to her counterpart in this little excursion. "I wanna go in here."  
  
He had opened his mouth to protest but knew it was too late when her had wrapped around his wrist, pulling him with suprising strength. 'Swinging that fan around so much has made her strong. And now I'm getting dragged into the last place I want to be right now. Damnit.' He sighed. 'Maybe Ino will get jealous, that could be entertaining..'  
  
When they entered, Shikamaru thanked the gods; Ino was nowhere to be seen. 'But of course her mother's here.' another sigh. 'This is alot of trouble.'  
  
Temari, on the other hand payed no heed to the owner. Instead, letting go of Shikamaru and wandering around the small shop. 'I haven't seen many of these before...'  
  
Shikamaru on the other hand had walked over next to the counter, slumping against the wall. "Hello Mrs. Yamanaka."  
  
Ino's mother beamed at him, looking over at Temari. "So you've found yourself a girlfriend?"  
  
He shook his head, having closed his eyes.  
  
"Oh, I see." Mrs. Yamanaka said. "A friend of your's then."  
  
Shikamaru stood up straight, feeling uncomfortable. "Sort of. She's one of the sandnins taking refuge here. And I've been showing her around Konoha."  
  
Mrs. Yamanaka nodded sagely. "She's the one you fought in the chuunin exam then. I remember Ino telling me about the fight. Sounded very exciting."  
  
He nodded, turning as he heard Temari coming towards them, in her hands a few white and blue irises.  
  
Temari layed them up on the counter, smiling. "I'd like these." she grabbed Shikamaru by the scruff of the neck. "He's paying." Her grin almost promised pain if he didn't comply, so he did what he was told. 'They don't cost that much anyways.'  
  
After sharing their goobbyes, they left. Shikamaru thanking the powers that be for his luck. Yes, the entire flowershop thing had gone quite alright. That was, until he felt someone's stare boring into the back of his head. 'Can't be.' he gritted his teeth slightly, hearing a 'hmmp'. He turned, to find none other than Ino.  
  
Temari, noticing he was no longer behind her, turned to find Ino glaring daggers at Shikamaru.  
  
Ino, after looking over Temari and noticing the flowers in her hands, looked back to Shikamaru,. "I didn't know you had a date. And with the sandnin, no less." she sounded mildly disgusted and had obviously just returned from visiting her precious Sasuke.  
  
Shikamaru crossed his arms. "Heh, not quite. Just helping her out is all." he was slightly agitated by her tone. Temari on the other hand was giving Ino a look reminiscent of Gaara.  
  
"Well, some people have to get to work. Have fun." she grumbled, entering the shop.  
  
Temari growled, turning and walking off, wanting very much to strangle a certain girl named Ino.  
  
The young Nara could do nothing but sigh, turning to follow. "Sorry, Ino can be a real pain sometimes."  
  
"Your teammate, right?" she was calming down, just a little.  
  
"Yeah." he looked over to the flowers in Temari's hand. "Though it isn't hard to see why she'd think we where on a date, is it?" she nodded a bit."Heh, not like she cares anyways." 'Strange that she'd get jealous when no one can compare to her precious Uchiha.'  
  
Temari was staring at the sky "I'm going back 'home'. We'll continue tomorrow, Nara." she turned to him, smiling just the littlest bit "Even if it was a date, would that be so bad?"  
  
"No, not at all." he smirked "After all, it's the least I can do for someone who saved my life."  
  
She smirked as well, turning and starting to walk away. "Yeah, I guess you're right."  
  
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So did you enjoy it? Tell me what you think, and don't be afraid to give me a few suggestions. 


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